By Contrast
by CatsbytheGreat
Summary: The differences between Narnia and England stand out very clearly for Edmund.


**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or Narnia. They belong to C.S. Lewis. **

**Author's Note: I was not expecting this story. I wanted to write another chapter to "Finding the Lost" and then this idea popped up. It takes place just after "Prince Caspian" and unfortunately has nothing to do with Edmund's missing torch.  
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Either way it was a shock to the system.

Edmund sat on the train taking him and his siblings back to school, having been in Narnia just moments before. Unbelievable, it was. Yet he had no other choice but to believe it, because that was what happened.

The sky outside was gray and the clouds seemed to threaten him with rain. It wasn't much of a threat, though. It rained a lot in England and Edmund had, over the past year, re-acclimated himself to it. This time he hadn't been in Narnia long enough to completely forget his other country.

Peter was opposite him, also staring out the window. Susan and Lucy had both fallen asleep, Susan looking troubled and Lucy looking wistful even as they slept. Edmund turned back to the window, which seemed like a barrier against the countryside now passing by. It was a barrier against this world, one that would soon be broken.

Edmund wondered what made Narnia's countryside so different from the grassy hills that took up his vision now. Perhaps the essence of this place was too familiar, and half the excitement of being in Narnia was because it wasn't England, or anywhere they could have possibly been before. It was somewhere nobody could really go to unless by some great chance. Narnia, even at its worst, seemed still more innocent than war-torn England and the other countries of this world. Not to mention that Aslan was so far away here. Edmund felt an ache in his heart when he thought of the Lion, for he missed Him so.

Peter sighed and Edmund's attention was brought back to the train compartment. It was so odd to feel so many different things in the matter of a few moments; to go from the magic of Narnia, standing at Aslan's side, to the isolation and gray drabness of England. They were so different it was mind blowing to think about. Not to mention a bit painful.

Edmund watched his brother for a moment: here a schoolboy, there a king. It had to hurt more for Peter, because he wouldn't be going back. And a thought came into his head. "Peter," he said, "Do you think Narnia would be so wonderful to us if we hadn't experienced England first?"

Peter looked up, tired and worn emotionally as well as physically. He seemed to think for a moment, and Edmund could tell it was a bit of an interruption from whatever he had been thinking before. "I don't know," he said finally. "You mean, if we grew up in Narnia?"

"Yes," Edmund said. "Would it be as special to us?"

"Well, I suppose if we'd never left England we wouldn't feel as averse to it as we do now," Peter reasoned, "because we wouldn't have known anything else. Narnia, if it was all we'd ever known, would probably be much the same. We'd be content, but I'm not sure we'd know how good it is compared to other places."

"Peter," said Edmund, who wanted to offer some words of comfort to his brother. "I suppose it's a good thing that we've been sent back to England, then. So we can fully appreciate the greatness of Narnia, and the wonderful opportunity to be so close to Aslan. I mean, it's a huge difference, between here and there. And England better illustrates Narnia by the way the two contrast with each other."

Peter smiled, a genuine smile. "That's one way to look at it," he said. "I think you ought to tell Susan and Lucy when they wake; they would appreciate it. And perhaps that is part of the reason why we were sent away."

"Do you," Edmund asked, hesitating slightly on the sensitivity of his question, "know the other reasons?"

"I do," Peter said, more solemn now. "I can't tell you now, though. As I told you before, you'll understand when your time comes. I think it's more for Aslan to tell you than I, anyway."

"I know," Edmund said, and he did understand.

"Edmund," Peter added. Edmund looked at him expectantly and Peter leaned forward and squeezed his arm. "Thank you, so much. You know, you're making this much easier to bear for me. I don't think words can describe how lucky I feel to have you around, how thankful I am."

Edmund's cheeks went slightly red, and he grinned back at his brother. "Thanks, Peter. You know I feel the same about you." He looked back out the window. "And, even if we can't describe it in words, we understand each other."

"That we do." Peter, too, resumed his watch of the world outside the window.

Edmund began thinking again. If Narnia and England were opposites of each other, and they defined each other more clearly, than what did either have to do with Aslan's country? He sighed. Perhaps they would better appreciate Aslan's country if they arrived there from England, where Aslan's presence was less obvious than it was in Narnia. It would be a bit of a shock to go from a place almost lacking of Aslan to a place that was His country, where they would be living with Him for eternity. Edmund thought it would be even better if the contrast was larger. After all, you couldn't miss what you already had, and perhaps the visual absence of Aslan in England (though not spiritual; He was always with them in spirit) would make for a more fulfilling reunion in the end.

Of course, Edmund knew that as long as they were with Aslan in the end it didn't matter. But it gave him some comfort that these great differences between the separate worlds didn't strictly have to be bad things. When he thought about them, he found he appreciated the differences themselves for what they were, and what they made each other.

The train continued on its way through this gray, war torn earth. And the two brothers watched the world pass by outside the window, and they smiled.


End file.
